Written By Ami Defesche

Carefully Curated: Sites That Do the Shopping for You

There is a LOT of stuff to buy on the Internet. I mean, a lot. A lot of amazing stuff, but unfortunately, there’s also a lot of crap. (Sorry, am I being harsh?) The Internet is chock full of people and companies putting out some awesome products. So, how do we, the consumers, cut through all the crap and find the awesome?

Luckily, there are sites popping up that are helping to solve that problem. I’ve taken to calling them “curation” sites and I’ll be the first to admit—my internet shopping may have gotten a little out of control since I found them. You’ve been warned. Basically, they put together the best products from around the internet into one lovely little shoppable package. And, many of them do you a favor by deeply discounting the merchandise they’ve collected. Bonus!

Fab.com

I usually don’t start with my favorites, but this site has it all. They’ve got clothing, jewelry, home goods and décor, and my favorite part… food. The whole premise of this site is to sell things that are well designed, and they don’t disappoint. Their slogan is “Smile. You’re designed to” and you kind of can’t help it when you get to this site. Some of my recent favorites have been these awesome metro system cuffs:

My new obsession, cold brewed coffee:

and this way too fabulous octopus shower curtain:

I haven’t even told you the best part either. From my experience, Fab is so gracious to their loyal customers that they pretty frequently send you—free money! So far I’ve gotten a gift card for Valentine’s goodies, a $10 giftcard to try out some new food (I am now the proud owner of 5 bags of sriracha popcorn) and $5 tucked into every package I receive from them.

Svpply.com

Svpply is another great site full of well-designed beauty that falls into a lot of the same categories as Fab: Apparel, Home, Tech, Media, Art, etc. The best way I can describe the target of this site is to say that it connects pretty closely with the “hipster” or “artsy” crowd, but in a very good way. Sure, you’ll see lots of vintage prints, flats, skinny jeans and irony but I’ll give one thing to the hipsters—they’ve got a hell of an eye for design.

This dainty ‘yes’ bracelet speaks to me for some reason:

But not as much as this sharp leather bag (see what I did there?)

Or, for those who want to take their Instagram to the next level, check these out:

IPhone Lenses

Don’t forget to sign up for their newsletter that comes every week with their Svpply Sleepers, a small collection of curated goods, usually by one user, that presents you with a few selections from their vast website that you may not have found otherwise.

OpenSky.com

Open Sky is kind of like Fab and Svpply, with the difference that the people that curate all of their offerings—are celebrities! Have you ever wondered what Andrew Zimmerman likes to munch on when he’s not eating bizarre foods on the Travel Channel? How about what beauty products that line Alicia Silverstone’s bathroom counter? Not only can you see them, but you can buy them too.

I’ve been wanting to get my hands on one of these Mophie phone charging cases for a while:

And I’ve got to admit, I’m kind of curious about this at-home yogurt maker:

Open Sky is another one of those sites that loves to give you free money, too. I get e-mails every so often with a surprise $10 or $15 credit toward a product of my choosing. It’s hard to say no to free money!

So, if there’s a little something missing from your life, or if you’ve just got the itch to do some online shopping, start with these. They’ll save you loads of time, and money, and what’s more precious than that when you’ve got a life to get back to?